AN OLYMPIC gold medallist and a former England cricket captain who took his team to the top were the star guests at one of Marlow's biggest bashes this year so far.

More than 240 guests attended the Best of British themed event at Marlow Sports Club on Saturday night, helping to raise £10,000 for the Pound Lane organisation.

Rower Greg Searle, who won gold in 1992 and made a comeback at London 2012 to grab bronze, and batsman Andrew Strauss, who led England to becoming top ranked test team, both from Marlow, added a touch of sporting greatness to the occasion.

The midsummer ball, attended by Mayor Suzanne Brown, was held to help pay off the £1.2 million spent by the club buying the land and building the all-weather pitch two years ago.

The club said all 240 guests enjoyed a three course dinner, auction and dancing as well as a n informative and entertaining question and answer session from the two sports stars.

Club chairman Paul Sambrook presented Cllr Jocelyn Towns, who was Mayor for two years until May, with life membership for what he described as her terrific fundraising support. In her first year as Mayor she raised £13,500 for the club and presented the money to officials at the 2012 town regatta.

The club has now reached the milestone of raising £500,000, having purchased the freehold at Pound Lane and established charitable status in the spring of 2011. Since then, the board of trustees have been working hard to find ways to open up the club for wider community use.

Mr Sambrook said: “All the trustees are committed to building on our proud past and to constantly find ways of improving the facilities in ways such as: attracting more sports options; providing wheelchair friendly access and toilet facilities and improving the clubhouse space for broader use by community groups. We really do see an exciting future.”

Since 2011 the club has seen all sections increase their membership dramatically. In addition to cricket, hockey, tennis, running and junior football, three new sections have joined the club including cycling, softball and netball. As a result, around 2,000 people from the area are using the ground of which 1,400 are youngsters. Improvements have included having the tennis courts refurbished and the all-weather pitch.

The club has appealed for more support through donations and sponsorship from companies and organisations in the nearby area. Email Emma Hellewell on emma.hellewell@marlowsportsclub.org.uk if you can help.